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Parker experier in career as Lai By PHILIP O. CARDACI Staff writer Martha Parker is in her final season at USC and, as usual is nroprpssine exeentionallv well. Statistically, and in terms of her accomplishments, she's unmatched by any t recent woman athlete at USC, and a strong argument can j; be made that she's one of the Lady Gamecocks' most . valued assets. 1 After all, during Parker's career with the Lady \ Gamecocks, she has started 113 of 115 games and averag- j. ed 14 points and six rebounds per contest, leading USC to a four-year 76-39 record. I But statistics, numbers and records don't seem to have an impact on Parker's frame of mind. "It's not a question of we played so-and-so or we beat so-and-so, and my statistics for my career were this," said Parker, adding that family, friends, coaches and team members have helped her grow in her years at USC. Parker is one of those competitors, who when perform- " ing to her potential, the entire squad is performing to its potential. But she has a more modest interpretation. fi "I've said it time and time again that the way I think b about it is ? if the team is doing well, then I'm doing d well. I think you can look at our record and say we're doing very good, and we're doing better than any team has is done in the past under Coach (Nancy) Wilson." t< Another thing that endears Parker to her coaches, players, fans and even opponents is the strong character h she brings to the court. "If anybody can pay me a compliment or something, w that I would appreciate more than anything, it's that I'm n rnmnetitive real determined, and I work hard and hustle. a too," Parker said. "Those would be the ones that would c make me proud just to hear them." tl But once again, Parker shuns credit, instead passing s< this attribute off as a product of those around her. "It comes from your parents, your mom and it's just 1} how you're brought up ? how to attack the game. Every s: game I go out there I have the frame of mind of trying to d be competitive and give it everything I've got." "Martha Parker is a very versatile player," says North s Carolina State head coach Kay Yow. "She can do it all ? a ! score, rebound, pass. Against us, she played power for- g ; ward and guard, so that shows her versatility. Parker has n a real head for the game, and she's fundamentally sound. t< Most of all, she's a real competitor." Lady Gamecock head coach Wilson has repeatedly p stated that one of the most valued traits of Parker, the on- v ly senior on the team, is her consistency. But Parker feels that this is overrated by those not familiar with the squad n and its workings. a "My teammates make me look good," says Parker. n "They're the reason I do seem consistent. They're the ones getting me the passes, they're the ones behind it. With this year's team, people don't realize that behind F every stat there's a bunch of people. We have a very p talented team, a very loaded team." e Perhaps the most mentioned description of Parker's b * play is her seemirfgly' liiftifless versdtih'fy. She has'played all five positions during her career at USC, without losing r< a beat. P "Versatility makes it fun. It's a challenge to play s somewhere you're not suppose to be," admitted Parker. tl "It's more fun to play out of your position." n Not only can she function, if not excel, at virtually any s position on the basketball court, but she can compete in other sports as well. During her high school years at Col- c umbia's Hammond Academy, Parker was not only voted h MVP four years in a row in her girls' basketball team, but she also lettered in softball and volleyball. Hammond has v since retired her number "13" jersey. s When Parker plays, she watches everything on the t court for everyone, while at the same time listening to instructions and coaching from the bench. n "I enjoy it, I like the feeling of responsibility," said s Parker. "If Coach Wilson is calling a play from the a sideline or if we're not doing something right and it needs r to be executed better, and she relays that to me, than it's I important for me to relay it to the team and make sure we I do it." v I A All <?*a(?: IIII1111J ^Hp w ipMHiifl ROGER CEN1 atThe University of South C ices success iy Gamecock "I've said it time and time again that he way I think about it is ? if the team ci dAmn virnll t hnn I'm rl Ainor li/oll 5 UUlllg WCU, llieil 1 111 UUUlg TTtlli JL hink you can look at our record and say ve're doing very good, and we're doing setter than any team has done in the past inder Coach (Nancy) Wilson." Martha Parker Off the court Parker's sense of responsibility and team H togetherness" doesn't slacken. "The biggest thing that I'd like to be known as is a con- Lj idant. I hope the team feels that no matter what the pro- P lem is they can feel free to come and talk to me. It oesn't even have to be about basketball." The team functions as a whole and if one of its players ; distracted or bothered by something, than the whole jam suffers. By no means does all the media attention go to Parker's ead. "I stink at a lot of things. All the hype has been /onderful and it's a blessing to have, but I don't see lyself like that," she claims. "I'm just an average person nd people don't realize that, as far as basketball is conerned, a lot of people are behind the scenes and make (lings seem bigger than they are. My teammates make me eem bigger than I am ? more than I deserve. Yet it's amazing to hear Parker reminisce about the ear/ part of her college career. With the advantage of hind ight, it doesn't seem reasonable that she could ever have oubted herself. "lnings nave oeen oeyona my wnaesi areams, sne aid. "I never dreamed I'd be starting for Carolina. I lways knew I'd work hard and do the best I could and ive it everything I had. And in the past that's worked for le, everything just seemed to fall in place and it did here, 30." "Coming out of Hammond," Parker continued, "peole doubted that I should even be on the Division I level. I /as doubted from the start." "People limit other people so much. They don't know le. They don't know how I think, and what I want to do, nd what I want to accomplish, and I think that made me lore determined." d The point that becomes evident when talking with 'arker and the characteristics that make her such a strong I erson is her self-awareness. She believes that being label d a competitor is her greatest compliment. Perhaps it is, ut in reality it means more than competition to her. B Her "frame of mind" is to do the best she can S egardless of hW limitations or what those around her <roclaim. Even if she fails ? as we all do ? and even if f< he truly does "stink" at certain things, the fact remains n hat her abilities are only second to her desire and deter- 5 lination. Parker simply credits this ability as a coping N kill. V "It's kind of like an adaptation. You adapt to the cir- C umstances and the difficulty of the situation and 1 lopefully you can rise above it." p Because her basketball career is winding down and this a /ill be the last year she can play Division I sports, Parker ays she wants to thank all those that have supported her t< hroughout her career at USC. " ti "I wish I could tell everybody, whether it's people in c ny classes, people in my honor societies, my sorority c isters, my teammates of the past, my present teammates nd also the ones coming in, and the coaches, just how g nuch they've made my four years such a wonderful thing. c don't think anybody could have a better four years than t< 've had. They've made me the total happy person. I just C vish I could say, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.'" E a 1 pGOT A NEWS TIP? a CALL 777*7726 ; Bridal Consignment Open: We< /Jr Yes! 10 am - 6 ^/J YOU CAN /AFFORD A WEDDING Why not rent' instead of buying? BUTTONS and BOWS 1038 St. Andrews Rd. J "Immediat Bj J New donors or any donoi # in 30 days can earn $20. ^ appointment necessary, but pi Jt? ^ Columbia Plai ^ 1916 Tayli ^ 254-6683 or ? 1 J IV . _ ' Automated Plasma Ceni larolina $20 < n Tp IB H fBL v ^B /.* '"'* 1 ' jI $&"' "''4 /;^1' ; ,, / - "' ,'i USC senior forward Martha Parker ti lefeated Cincinnati 58-48 at Carolina C USC wome iy RICHARD YV^ROWEJLL taff writer Despite a 26-point season-high perarmance by Bev Orbinger of Cincinati, USC toppled the Lady Bearcats 8-48 in a Metro Conference battle londay night at Carolina Coliseum. Vith the win, the 16th-ranked Lady Jamecocks improved their record to 6-5 overall and 8-1 in conference lay. The Lady Bearcats fell to 17-6 nd 4-5. "Obringer was making tough cuts d the basket, getting her hands on lie ball and playing tough for Cininnati," said USC head coach Nany Wilson. In the first half, USC played slugish and sloppy at the start, and Cininnati took advantage, jumping out a a four-point lead. The Lady iamecocks finally got on track when ieth Hunt's short jumper gave USC n 8-6 lead at the 14:53 mark. USC ever trailed again. The Lady Bearcats kept it close, nd even tied it up after 11 minutes if nlav at 1 f\-1 f\ Rut I JSC went on a 6-3 run to finish the first half and and Rental Shop i-Sat. . pm - i M . Wedding Gowns Prom and Pageant Dresses 772-6335 " $20 te Cash" J lis Coupon-2 rs that haven't donated 00 on first donation. No ^ ocessing is faster with one. ? ima Center a it Street f 254-6684 0 fer - Faster and Safe''^ ^ > $20 HStmsjf ^ ^^HnHnnnn^pppiry^K^ W #b4 fpps ipHBgHg|% iMPJf ' - 3|iprcjM ^ " y * W^ ' * ies to escape the trap set by a Lady Beai oliseum Monday night in a Metro Coni n capture 7 lead at the break, 32-19. After leading by as much as 19 points in the second half, the Lady Gamecocks almost allowed Cincinnati to get back in the contest. In a six-minute span, the Lady Bearcats outscored USC 17-6 and cut the deficit to six points at 54-48 with 2:19 left in the game. But USC center Schonna Banner stopped the run with two free throws, and Hunt added a layup off an offensive rebound to preserve the win. "With the exception of that five minutes (when Cincinnati cut the lead to four), 1 thought we played well," Wilson said. "Our ball handling was good, and our defense was tough ? especially Sherry David's work on their point guard." With USC coming off its first conference loss at Southern Mississippi a week before, Wilson said she was pleased with the intensity of the players and her team's offensive performance. "Win or lose, our offensive execution was better than it has been all along," she said. "That's what I Gamecocks in importam By KEVIN ADAMS Cn/irte D<IS(nr OJIUI 1.3 VUIIWI With the home stretch of the Metro Conference basketball race looming before them, George Felton's Gamecocks have a lot of questions to answer. They'll get their fair chance to answer them when they host Metro opponent Virginia Tech 7:30 tonight at Carolina Coliseum. Three weeks ago, USC was 12-3 and looking like a definite NCAA tournament team. But since then, the Gamecocks have dropped five of six games to fall back into the darkhorse category for the NCAA, even though an NIT bid ? barring a total collapse ? seems virtually certain. The Gamecocks are now 13-8 overall and 3-4 in the Metro, with consecutive road losses to conference foes Florida State and Memphis State. Saturday's 63-48 loss to the Tigers in Memphis was particularly disheartening to Felton and his crew. For the third time in three Metro road games, USC faltered in the final minutes of a close battle. More importantly, it gave Memphis State sole possession of third place in the conference and the inside track toward a first-round bye in the Metro TournaWUSC-F TEDDY LEPP/The Gamecock / 'cat opponent. The Lady Gamecocks 'erence matchup. tfetro win wanted to see, but now we want it to be there for the complete 40 minutes." The Lady Gamecocks travel to Raleigh today to take on the No. 13 Lady Wolf packs of North Carolina State at 6 p.m. in a non-conference match-up. CINCINNATI (48) Williams 4-6 0-0 8, Wright 0-3 1-2 I, Orbinger 12-20 2-2 26, Koeing 0-2 0-0 0, Harkless 3-7 1-1 7, Roell 0-0 0-0 0, Dennison 0-0 2-2 2, Sords 1-2 0-0 2, McClure 0-0 0-0 0, Odeys 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-42 6-7 48. use (58) Hunt 10-15 2-2 22, Parker 5-8 0-0 10, Banner 5-11 2-2 12, David 0-0 0-0 0, Diaz 3-6 0-0 6, Middleton 3-6 0-0 6, Hawkins 1-2 0-0 2, McMillian 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-48 4-4 58. Halftime ? USC 32, Cincinnati 19. 3-point goals ? Cincinnati 0-1 (Harkless 0-1), USC 0-2 (Middleton 0-2). Rebounds ? Cincinnati 17 (Wright 5), USC 25 (Hunt 7). Assists ? Cincinnati 12 (Williams 3, Roell 3), USC 19 (Parker 6). Total fouls ? Cincinnati 10, USC 10. Attendance ? 813. face Hokies t Metro tilt ment, to be held March 10-12 in Columbia. The top three finishers in the Metro will have an automatic berth in the tournament semifinals March 11, with the fourth-place team (currently USC) playing a first-round game against the fifth-place finisher, probably Southern Mississippi. Virginia Tech and Cincinnati are on probation and will not participate in the tournament, reducing the field to five teams. The good news is that, beginning tonight with the Hokies, USC can control its own destiny, as the Gamecocks have five conference games remaining. Four of those nompc orp oooinct thp hnttnm thrpp gUIUVO U1 W UgUlUJl mv w schools in the Metro (Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, and Southern Mississippi). The bad news is that three of those games are on the road ? where USC is 0-3 in the conference and 2-7 overall this season ? and one of the home games is against perennial conference leader Louisville. The Cardinals lead the overall series with USC 11-1 and have won the last ten games between the two schools. Virginia Tech, led by guards Vernell "Bimbo" Coles and Wally Lancaster, is 9-12 overall and" 1-5 in the Metro. M AWESOME ALTERNATIVE 90.5